Mining operations remove aggregate ore from an in-ground deposit and process the loose aggregate ore to remove metals, coal, and other minerals. Ore removed from the ground includes particles of the target material but may also include various other, secondary materials. Such secondary materials may include rock, soil, and other minerals. In order to produce a pure sample of the target material, the secondary material must be removed from the target material sample.
Traditional methods for removing secondary material from a target material involve a chemical process and one or more finishing steps. The finishing steps often fail to fully remove the secondary material from the target material. By way of example, finishing steps may include the size or weight dependent processes of frothing, filtering, and panning. Frothing uses chemicals and large bubbles to chemically separate target material. Filtering machines rely on a fluid containing the target material and secondary material and pass the fluid through one or more filters. The filters are generally fibrous and vary in precision from course to fine. After the fluid is passed through, particles of the same size are trapped within the filter regardless of whether the particles are target material or secondary material. Given the need for a pure target material final product, trapped filter material may be thereafter panned. While panning separates target material from secondary material, panning is very time consuming. Despite these deficiencies, frothing, filtering and panning remain the primary methods used for removing target material from a fluid containing target material and secondary materials.